The quickest way to get a revealing picture of the state of South Australia's regions is to dip into Regional Statistics, South Australia, 2000, released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The third edition of this popular annual provides a statistical overview of what's happening in South Australia's regions:

see which regions have grown or which are in decline:- time series data from 1994 to 1999 for areas such as Riverland, West Coast etc.

population projections, property sales and local government outlay on environmental services.

Good news for some regions and not so good for others:

Northern Adelaide contains the largest share of the State's population (22.8 per cent at 30 June 1999) while Kangaroo Island has the smallest share, with 0.3 per cent.

The highest population increases were in the Far North, with an increase of 4.7 per cent, Fleurieu, 2.3 per cent and the Mt Lofty Ranges and West Coast regions, both with 1.3 per cent. However, the populations of Flinders Ranges (-1.7 per cent), Pirie (-0.9 per cent), Whyalla (-1.4 per cent), Lower North (-0.4 per cent) and Riverland (-0.2 per cent) decreased.

For the June quarter 1999, unemployment was lowest in the Upper South East (3.4 per cent) and highest in Whyalla (14.0 per cent). The State's unemployment rate was 8.3 per cent for the same period.

The average price of residential property sales in non-metropolitan SA ranged from approximately $125,000 in the Mt Lofty Ranges to around $52,000 in Pirie.

For the year ended 30 June 1998, average individual annual taxable income was highest in the Far North ($40,059), Eastern Adelaide ($36,559) and Whyalla ($33, 628). The average for SA was $30,744. Kangaroo Island ($24,958) and Murray Mallee ($25,483) had the lowest average annual taxable incomes.

Yorke Peninsula, had the highest proportion of persons aged 15 years and over receiving social security payments (38.0 per cent at June 1999), while the Upper South East, with 19.3 per cent, had the lowest proportion.

Further information on regional South Australia is presented in the report Regional Statistics, South Australia, 2000(cat. no.1362.4). The summary of the main findings are available on this site. If you wish to purchase a copy of this publication, contact the ABS bookshop in your capital city.